Exxon to Drill First Ohio Utica Shale Well in Belmont County

According to press reports, XTO Energy—a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil—will drill its first Ohio Utica Shale well in Belmont County.

Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy plans to drill its first Ohio Utica Shale well just south of the former Key Ridge Elementary School in Belmont County, state records show.

Public records also confirm oil giant Exxon has at least 52,334 acres leased for drilling in Belmont and Monroe counties, while competitor Chevron has several thousand acres leased in Marshall and Ohio counties.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources records show XTO has the permit to drill the Utica Shale well on a 461-acre plot in Mead Township, just south of Ohio 147.

Though XTO has some Ohio permits to drill in other areas of the state, the Belmont County well will be the company’s first in the Utica Shale. Industry leaders in Ohio estimate the state’s portion of the Utica Shale may contain as many as 5.6 billion barrels of oil.

Exxon – which has leased about 26,000 acres in Belmont County since October in the name of XTO – has at least 25,000 acres leased in Monroe County.*